Emmaus Road Church | Fort Collins, Colorado

Today is Ascension Sunday. The ascension of Christ to the right hand of God is a way of recognizing that Christ has been raised up or promoted to his place of authority over heaven and earth where he now fills the cosmos with his presence. The ascension is not a way of explaining his apparent absence in the world; it is about the cosmic presence of Christ filling the earth as he now rules over all the nations.

Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 5:6-11 (NRSV)

Today is Ascension Sunday. The ascension of Christ to the right hand of God is a way of recognizing that Christ has been raised up or promoted to his place of authority over heaven and earth where he now fills the cosmos with his presence. The ascension is not a way of explaining his apparent absence in the world; it is about the cosmic presence of Christ filling the earth as he now rules over all the nations.

Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 5:6-11 (NRSV)

In this fifth week of Easter, Pastor Andy Lucas preaches from Acts 16:11-34. 

In this story a Gentile woman is recognized as a key player in the kingdom of God, a slave girl is set from demon possession, and a jailer heals the wounds of an inmate. The message is clear….in the uprising of Jesus injustice will be confronted and true peace (compared to Pax Romana) will come to bear on people’s lives and society. And it will be accomplished through partnerships that normal systems and structures could not allow and would not imagine. Because that’s how the kingdom of God works - through partnership!

In this fifth week of Easter, Pastor Andy Lucas preaches from Acts 16:11-34. 

In this story a Gentile woman is recognized as a key player in the kingdom of God, a slave girl is set from demon possession, and a jailer heals the wounds of an inmate. The message is clear….in the uprising of Jesus injustice will be confronted and true peace (compared to Pax Romana) will come to bear on people’s lives and society. And it will be accomplished through partnerships that normal systems and structures could not allow and would not imagine. Because that’s how the kingdom of God works - through partnership!

Pastor Andy Lucas performs a dramatized amplification of the narrative found in Acts 2: 41-47. In doing so, he brings to light the early church's foundational structure of teaching, communion, fellowship, and prayer, and how this remains our foundation for corporate worship today.

Pastor Andy Lucas performs a dramatized amplification of the narrative found in Acts 2: 41-47. In doing so, he brings to light the early church's foundational structure of teaching, communion, fellowship, and prayer, and how this remains our foundation for corporate worship today.

Preaching from John 21:1-19, Pastor Andy Lucas show us how in the same way that a long night of fishing disappears with a big catch, Peter’s past failures had vanished with the forgiveness of Christ and the invitation to participate in his work. In the uprising of Jesus, we aren’t defined by our past, we are offered the simple invitation to “Follow him.”

Our encouragement to each of us is to not stop at confession of our love for Jesus, but to answer the invitation of Jesus to be his disciple. To be learners, followers, apprentices. Even when it isn’t easy. Even when the ways of Jesus seem to conflict with the ways of nation.

Preaching from John 21:1-19, Pastor Andy Lucas show us how in the same way that a long night of fishing disappears with a big catch, Peter’s past failures had vanished with the forgiveness of Christ and the invitation to participate in his work. In the uprising of Jesus, we aren’t defined by our past, we are offered the simple invitation to “Follow him.”

Our encouragement to each of us is to not stop at confession of our love for Jesus, but to answer the invitation of Jesus to be his disciple. To be learners, followers, apprentices. Even when it isn’t easy. Even when the ways of Jesus seem to conflict with the ways of nation.

Pastor Andy Lucas

The uprising of Jesus is an uprising of fellowship! Sometimes we misunderstand fellowship as a sense of community among like-minded people. A sense of belonging among people who all paid their dues, believe the same thing, and have the same partisan persuasions. That isn’t fellowship. It might be camaraderie, but it isn’t fellowship.

“Fellowship is a kind of belonging that isn’t based on status, achievement, or gender, but instead is based on a deep belief that everyone matters, everyone is welcome, and everyone is loved, no conditions, no exceptions.” -Brian McLaren, We Make The Road By Walking, pg. 175

This Christ-centered uprising is for all people. Those who aren’t certain all the time. Those who tend to fear. Those who know exactly what they believe, and those who aren’t sure what or how to believe. Those who are brave and those who aren’t. It is for men AND women. It is for the rich AND the poor. It is for those who show their scars and those who tend to hide them. And it must be this way, because only together we can figure things out. Only together can we can learn to hope, believe, and love.

Pastor Andy Lucas

The uprising of Jesus is an uprising of fellowship! Sometimes we misunderstand fellowship as a sense of community among like-minded people. A sense of belonging among people who all paid their dues, believe the same thing, and have the same partisan persuasions. That isn’t fellowship. It might be camaraderie, but it isn’t fellowship.

“Fellowship is a kind of belonging that isn’t based on status, achievement, or gender, but instead is based on a deep belief that everyone matters, everyone is welcome, and everyone is loved, no conditions, no exceptions.” -Brian McLaren, We Make The Road By Walking, pg. 175

This Christ-centered uprising is for all people. Those who aren’t certain all the time. Those who tend to fear. Those who know exactly what they believe, and those who aren’t sure what or how to believe. Those who are brave and those who aren’t. It is for men AND women. It is for the rich AND the poor. It is for those who show their scars and those who tend to hide them. And it must be this way, because only together we can figure things out. Only together can we can learn to hope, believe, and love.